PA Gov to Negotiate Union Contracts Shortly after Receiving Major Support for Campaign

TribLIVE: “When Gov.-elect Tom Wolf negotiates Pennsylvania’s largest public sector union contracts in 2015, his administration will sit across the table from some of his largest campaign supporters.

“The national chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees gave Wolf’s campaign $500,000, as did the political arm of Pennsylvania’s Service Employees International Union. The state’s AFSCME Council 13 donated $54,000. AFSCME and SEIU contracts for state employees will expire June 30.

“The Commonwealth Foundation, a free-market think tank based in Harrisburg, said donations of $5,000 or more from unions to Wolf’s campaign total more than $2.7 million, citing figures from Public Source. Nathan Benefield, vice president of policy analysis of the Commonwealth Foundation, said donations don’t mean there’s a ‘quid pro quo,’ but four of the top 10 donors to Wolf’s campaign were unions.”